Arrived safely in Kauai

Hawaii bound...

I'll be posting a few images of some of my recent weddings, bridal sessions, and engagements, including some fun ones we did in Chicago, in the coming days once I get settled into our hotel. We're on our way to Kauai for some honeymoon coverage for Amy and Mike who were married at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville this past Sunday. Here's one quick image of the fun-loving couple that I grabbed on the Estate after their wedding.... more to come soon!

I love my clients!

I continually am blessed with great clients... ones that love each other and show it; ones that appreciate the art and craft of photography; and ones that have a great sense of humor. A few weeks ago, I was privileged to cover the wedding of Jennifer and Ken. Throughout the day, they had cue cards that they were having people read for a secret project. The result? A super funny and creative lip dub video. You gotta check it out:

Wedding Video Crazy in Love Lip Dub from Jonathan Watters on Vimeo.

Jury's still out...

It's 3am and I just got back from the midnight showing of the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unlike the most recent feature in the Star Wars saga released in 2005, there was no long line in which to stand outside the theater tonight. In fact, the theater (which was showing Indy on all 10 of its screens) wasn't even close to being sold out. There were plenty of seats to be had throughout. While I very much enjoyed the movie, I don't think it lived up to the spirit of the original trilogy. The first three films all had great action, plucky humor and mythical elements... and we all willingly and joyfully suspended our disbelief in exchange for fun and lighthearted entertainment. In the Crystal Skull however, the dynamic has changed (as one might expect after 19 years- aging actors, as well as filmmakers), but rather than 'feeling' cheery when exiting the theater this early morning, I was 'thinking'.... thinking more "give me a break"s than I'd have hoped. In short, it's worth seeing, but with its lackluster script and almost amateur lighting in some scenes (something one shouldn't even notice when watching a film... ok, ok so I worked in the film business for years, but still, the DP could have done better), I feel like it was a bit uninspiring overall.... almost cheesy, rather than the fun tongue-in-cheek of the others. I feel that Harrison Ford did a good job as his revived famed character, but in the Crystal Skull, I felt a little like he was the George Lazenby of the series, whereas Ford's original portrayal was the Sean Connery (diehard Bond lovers will know what I mean). That's to say that whereas Harrison seemed to play Indiana Jones in this latest movie, he was Indiana Jones in the others. I have to let the film sink in to make my final call. I'm interested to hear your comments after you've seen the movie.

David and Megan at Claxton Farm!

Amber here... I love my job! What could possibly be more fun than hanging out on a beautiful Saturday evening with gorgeous, happy people who love each other? 

I had an amazing time with David and Megan and their wonderful friends and families this weekend at Claxton Farm.  David and Megan were gracious and loving, and I feel privileged to have been a part of their wedding day! 

A few details.... 

The dress and the barn.



Gorgeous spring florals provided by the Bloom Room. I love all of this color.



A quick group shot before the ceremony. These girls were all SO beautiful.



I love the emotion in this image taken just prior to the ceremony.



A couple of ceremony shots.





One of my favorites of the day. I'm always so excited to capture a couple's spontaneous celebration of their official-ness.



Gorgeous light...



A few quiet dance shots...





And one fun party shot. Can you tell this is a group who loved to have fun?



Thanks so much for having me at your wedding, Megan and David. I hope you enjoy some serious relaxation in the next few weeks!

Comfort awaits!

After years of wanting one, and after my last chair broke, I finally treated myself to a new Herman Miller Aeron. First introduced in 1994, it was in instant classic and was chosen for the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Though the basic design is now well over a decade old, Herman Miller has continued to improve on perfection. They've updated the lumbar support to their new PostureFit system, they've added the polished base option, and most recently have partnered with Sit4Less.com to finally appease the masses for their request for a true black color (versus the various greys and neutrals previously available). With as much time as I spend at the computer, comfort and ergonomics were of great importance to me. I also tried out the Leap by Steelcase and the Liberty by Humanscale, as well as several others that were said to have been some of the best chairs out there, and while they were nice, for me, the best fit definitely was the Aeron.... plus I think it just looks cooler too! Should be waiting for me when I get back from Chicago next week.

Katherine and Bill- Engagements at Holden Beach!

Hi all!

I just returned from a lovely trip to beautiful Holden Beach, NC. I had the privilege of spending a few days with Katherine and Bill at Katherine's family's lovely beach house.

We had a leisurely drive back from the airport on Sunday night, and really enjoyed chatting and getting to know one another. When we arrived back at the house, Mrs. Garrison had prepared some delicious snacks for us, and we devoured those while planning out the long day ahead of us. Katherine had several awesome ideas for places we might shoot along the beach, and I was thrilled with her enthusiasm!

The next morning, we headed out early to enjoy the sweet sunrise light.





You would've never known it was windy and cold in this image... they definitely look hot!



We took a quick break to get warmed up and do a clothing change, and headed back out to a different area of the beach. Katherine had scoped out a general area, and once we got there, we found several awesome locations!





Later, after lunch, we grabbed a few casual images. Katherine really loves the shrimp boats dotted along the marina, so we searched one out and I just loved the color in them!



We also found this cool house. I loved the color here, too!



I love these two moments.





Our last session of the day was on the beach at sunset. We drove down to the very end of the beach, and the color was just amazing. Here are just a few of my favorites.





Katherine and Bill... good luck with the rest of the wedding planning! I can't wait to see you in August!

hugs,

amber

Beautiful Wedding on Harbour Island!

I recently had the privilege of covering the beautiful wedding and the surrounding festivities for a truly great couple, Amanda and Peter. Jill and I traveled to Harbour Island in the Bahamas for the wedding, and thanks to some unusual (but very welcome) flexibility in our schedules, we were able to spend a little extra time there to celebrate: simultaneously our 4-year anniversary and honeymoon we'd never taken, her birthday, and our first vacation in over 5 years. Not only was the couple amazing, but equally so was the Island and all it had to offer... at about one half mile wide and only accessible by boat, its charm and seclusion makes it an ideal retreat! Here are a few photos.

Pink sand beaches, often without another soul in sight as far as you could see in either direction!

With very few cars on the island at all, the preferred method of transportation is golf carts.

Amanda and Peter

A Junkanoo trumpet player after the ceremony.

Though the island has no shortage of gulls or resident chickens that roam freely, patience paid off one morning as I got this shot of a Bahama Woodstar, Calliphlox evelynae, one of the Bahamas' only hummingbirds.

One of our staples while on the island... the "Beer of the Bahamas", the delicious and refreshing Kalik! (taken with my new underwater camera enclosure...fun!)

My beautiful wife on our last night. As we were not only celebrating our anniversary, but also Jill's birthday, I had to get her something special... and then I grabbed this shot to show off her new jewelry (duty free!)

A New Toy!

My new computer arrived today! I'm super excited to get it set up. We're a little swamped and short-staffed right now, so it might have to wait until next week, but it's sure to be awesome! It's the new 8-core MacPro with two 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Harpertown processors, 4 hard drives, 2 dvd drives, room for 32gb of ram, and a video card with 512mb of ram. Though my G5 is still very speedy and beefy, and will remain in place acting as a 11 terabyte server, it was time for an upgrade.